Podcasters need to be a little weird

It’s the little weird details that you include in your podcast episodes that will help the audience you’re building miss you when you’re gone.

What makes your podcast weird?

Weird is the new cool. It’s what makes you stand out from all the others and creates fans – fans who get you because they’re just a little weird too. Not sure how to be weird? Try a few of the things that make some of my favorite podcasts weird enough to love:

Be Unexpected

Have a kid say something cute about what they think you do.

An example is the Angry Mountain Biker podcast hosted by Will Niccolls. His outro often features a child’s voice saying, “Will! Talk about Mow-Tan-Bike!” It is just so adorable that it catches you completely by surprise.

What kind of super adorable or unexpected out-take could you add to the end of your podcast that will make people listen until the end to hear it?

Be Quotable

Add that strange quote to the very, very end after the show’s over.

An example is ID10T (formerly The Nerdist) by Chris Hardwick that often ends with the phrase, “Enjoy your burrito!” What does “enjoy your burrito” mean? The story is as old as Chris Hardwick’s podcasting career and worth investigating. But the short version is that “believing in the burrito” has become a motto for life among former-Nerdist now ID10T fans.

Do you’re hardcore audience have something that makes them stand out as fans of your show? Maybe it’s time to investigate which of your episodes stand out the most and pull something quotable from it.

Be Silly

Become part of the intro music by playing along with the song.

An example of this is how Chris Curran, the host of the Podcast Engineering Show starts his podcast. Rather than just play music, he becomes part of the rock intro by expressing how it makes him fell with a series of hilarious “Oh, yeah!” and “Ooo! Hahaha!” It’s an experience that has to be heard to be both understood AND enjoyed.

There is just something about Chris’ enthusiasm that makes his collaboration with his intro music a key element of why his show works. Plus his laugh — his incredibly infectious laugh — is what makes Chris Curran a fantastic host.

Do you have a quality or quirk that makes people smile no matter what? Could it be the way you say “dollar”, “tortilla”, or “guacamole”? Maybe you should ask your friends and family what THEY think it is — then use it!

Be Memorable

Have a catchphrase that gets said every single time no matter what.

A great example is from how Dave Jackson begins the theme music to the School of Podcasting by exclaiming “Hit it, Ladies!” Now, after hearing dozens of Dave’s episodes — and his other podcasts — when I don’t hear “hit it, ladies”, I sense something is missing.

Do you have something in your podcast that would be missed if you stopped doing it?

Be Yourself

It’s the little weird details you include in every episode that will help your audience miss you until your next episode.

So don’t cut them out!

We listen to podcasts for dozens of different reasons, with many of them having nothing to do with content. The thing you hate the most about your voice inflections, how your laugh at dumb jokes, the quirky way you stay Norfolk or even the story your co-host won’t stop telling, just might be the one weird thing that makes your show stand out.

If you find it?
Embrace it!
Love it!
Embellish it!

It will be BECAUSE you have those weird things in your show that your audience will want to listen every week. And if you don’t know what it is yet (and your audience has yet to tell you what it is)? Do more weird stuff until you find it!

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About Me

Kyle Bondo is a thinker, podcaster, author, and creative strategy dragon seeking to make a small dent in the universe. With over 20-years of experience in finding creative ways to solve business and technology challenges, Kyle is the missing link between your ponytails and propeller heads. More a sure-footed mountain goat then unicorn, Kyle is right kind of weird for those teams that need a creative perspective on wicked problems.